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　　(2006-2007学年第15期)

　　By Geoff Lemon

　　Ping and Say discuss Aids awareness.

　　Say: Hi Ping, what’s with the red ribbon?

　　Ping: Oh hello Say, good to see you. The ribbon? It’s just something I bought to participate in World AIDS Day next week.

　　Say: Hah! They have a “day” for everything now!

　　Ping: But AIDS awareness is so important, don’t you think?

　　Say: To tell you the truth I hadn’t really thought about it that much. I know it’s mentioned on the News every other day.

　　Ping: Well that’s because it’s having such a terrible effect around the world.

　　Say: But it’s really only a problem for drug users and sex workers, isn’t it?

　　Ping: Are you kidding? You need to do some homework Say.

　　Say: Why?

　　Ping: Firstly, because it is now very much a concern for the wider community, and also, because if people keep thinking that it is only something that affects “fringe minorities” it makes the job of providing care for those who have it more difficult.

　　Say: OK. It’s not like I lack compassion but I can’t help thinking, “what’s it got to do with me?”

　　Ping: Partly, because it’s another killer virus out there that we haven’t been able to defeat. Did you know that around 30% of pregnant women in Southern Africa are diagnosed with HIV?

　　Say: That seems like an extraordinarily high number! Are you sure?

　　Ping: Those are the figures just released by the WHO. And you know what else, their children are born with the disease.

　　Say: Hell! That’s a pretty poor break in life — as if poverty was not enough.

　　Ping: Yeah. Seems like the virus has found its way into the larger population, with more heterosexuals contracting it.

　　Say: My god. I just thought it was something Gays and prostitutes and needle-users got.

　　Ping: Afraid not. Actually there are quite a lot of AIDS-affected people here in China who contracted it when they were giving blood.

　　Say: What? How on earth...

　　Ping: Through poor needle practices and sloppy medical procedures. And now thousands of people have had their lives ruined.

　　Say: But how did AIDS happen in the first place?

　　Ping: An interesting thought. It seems that it’s a natural virus in the monkey population — except that it has little effect on monkeys. It’s not all monkeys of course — just one particular African species. Scientists believe hunters who ate and handled, and probably got blood on themselves when they butchered the monkeys for meat — they probably were the first people affected. Of course it takes years to have “full-blown AIDS,” the first step is HIV and you can live quite a while suffering that.

　　Say: Wow! Monkeys huh?

　　Ping: Right. And you know what? I think we’re going to see more diseases just like this “come out of the woodwork” in the future.

　　Say: What gives you that idea?

　　Ping: Because Nature is paying us back for destroying the planet. There are all kinds of diseases that are at home deep in the heart of the jungle and in wild places and in animals and birds that we don’t normally have contact with. But we’re using more and more of the planet and destroying the habitat of other creatures — so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that nature is “biting back.”

　　Say: So what can we do?

　　Ping: Well, in the short-term we should all be using safe health practices, you know, no needle swapping10, using a condom, and keeping clean. And we should be encouraging our political masters to put more resources into the fight for a cure. But really we must also be showing compassion to those people who have the disease. They shouldn’t face a stigma — this is not about finding fault— nobody WANTS to be sick...

　　Say: You know, I don’t even know anybody with AIDS. What can I do?

　　Ping: Actually you may know people with AIDS or HIV. They could be people who don’t know they’re carrying it, or they could be people who just don’t want to tell you — because they’re frightened as much about losing their friends as about losing their lives. What can you do? Make donation to the cause and buy one of these red ribbons. Think of it as... Insurance!